NCT06643481 (ASTRALS) is a Phase 2 clinical trial of VHB937 in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), sponsored by Novartis Pharmaceuticals.

Who is sponsoring NCT06643481?

NCT06643481 is sponsored by Novartis Pharmaceuticals.

What drugs are being tested in NCT06643481?

Interventions in NCT06643481: VHB937, Placebo.

What condition does NCT06643481 study?

NCT06643481 studies Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS).

Is NCT06643481 still recruiting?

NCT06643481 is currently active, enrolled. Last updated 7 April 2026.

Last reviewed 2026-04-07 · How we verify

NCT06643481: ASTRALS

Name: Drug Landscape Pharmaceutical Database
Creator: Drug Landscape
Published: 2026-01-01
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

A Clinical Trial to Learn About the Effects of VHB937 in People With Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)

Active, enrolled Phase 2 Last updated 7 April 2026

What this trial tests

Phase 2 trial testing VHB937 in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) in 251 participants. Participants enrolled and being followed up; not accepting new ones.

Timeline

17 October 2024

Primary endpoint
21 September 2026

7 July 2028

Quick facts

Lead sponsor	Novartis Pharmaceuticals
Phase	Phase 2
Status	Active, enrolled
Study type	INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation	randomized
Design	parallel
Masking	triple
Primary purpose	treatment
Enrollment	251
Start date	17 October 2024
Primary completion	21 September 2026
Estimated completion	7 July 2028
Sites	86 locations across Denmark, France, Italy, Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden, Ireland, United Kingdom

Drugs / interventions tested

VHB937 — full drug profile →
Placebo

Conditions studied

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) — all drugs for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) →

Sponsor

Novartis Pharmaceuticals — full company profile →

Who can join

Adults 18 to 100, any sex, with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). Patients with the condition only — healthy volunteers not accepted.

Sponsor's own description

This is a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel group Phase II study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of VHB937 in participants with early-stage ALS (within 2 years of ALS symptoms onset). The study comprises a core double-blind (DB) 40-week treatment period followed by an open label extension (OLE).

Publications & conference data

5 peer-reviewed publications reference this trial (live from Europe PMC):

Biomarkers and therapeutic strategies targeting microglia in neurodegenerative diseases: current status and future directions.
Noh MY, Kwon HS, Kwon MS, Nahm M, et al · · 2025 · cited 24× · PMID 40640892 · DOI 10.1186/s13024-025-00867-4
TREM2<sup>+</sup> macrophages: a key role in disease development.
Wang X, Wang Y, Yang L, Zhang Y, et al · · 2025 · cited 4× · PMID 40242752 · DOI 10.3389/fimmu.2025.1550893
TREM2 in Neurodegenerative Diseases: Mechanisms and Therapeutic Potential.
Li L, Zheng X, Ma H, Zhu M, et al · · 2025 · cited 3× · PMID 40940798 · DOI 10.3390/cells14171387
Building a potent TREM2 agonistic, biparatopic, common light chain antibody.
da Silva Almeida A, Geddie ML, Bhate A, Quan C, et al · · 2025 · cited 1× · PMID 40803893 · DOI 10.1080/19420862.2025.2546554
Microglia in Epilepsy: From Molecular Mechanism to Therapeutic Strategy.
Paudel YN, Angelopoulou E, Kulkarni S, Blair RE, et al · · 2026 · PMID 42121936 · DOI 10.3390/cells15090835

Verify or expand the search:

Other trials of VHB937

Trials testing the same drug.

NCT07094516 — A Clinical Trial to Learn About the Effects of VHB937 in People With Early Alzheimer's Disease · Phase 2 · recruiting

Other recruiting trials for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)

Currently open trials in the same condition.

NCT06608004 — Influence of Olfacto-gustatory Sensoriality on the Nutritional Status of Patients With Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis · recruiting
NCT07187388 — Investigating the Impact of Electrical Stimulation on Facial Pain, Jaw Movement and Oral Health in People With Motor Neu · NA · recruiting
NCT07233148 — Healing ALS Registry Observational Study (HAROS) · recruiting
NCT07257302 — Lung Insufflation Capacity Training and Respiratory Function in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis · NA · recruiting
NCT07118319 — The Safety, Tolerability and Preliminary Efficacy of Derived Motor Neuron Progenitor Cells (XS228CN) in Subjects With Am · Phase 1 · recruiting

Other Novartis Pharmaceuticals trials

Trials by the same sponsor.

NCT07498335 — Study to Assess the Efficacy, Pharmacokinetics, Safety and Tolerability of Atrasentan in Pediatric Patients With Primary · Phase 3 · not yet recruiting
NCT07489573 — Study of Efficacy and Safety of Secukinumab in Chinese Adult Patients With Moderate to Severe Hidradenitis Suppurativa · Phase 4 · not yet recruiting
NCT07484269 — PULSE Registry: for Patients Receiving Lutetium (177Lu) Vipivotide Tetraxetan · not yet recruiting
NCT07416162 — A Study of Iptacopan in Korean Patients With Paroxysmal Nocturnal Hemoglobinuria or C3 Glomerulopathy · not yet recruiting
NCT07387926 — Safety and Efficacy of Asciminib in Pediatrics and Young Adults With Relapse/Refractory (r/r) Philadelphia Positive (Ph+ · Phase 1, PHASE2 · not yet recruiting

Verify against primary sources

ClinicalTrials.gov — authoritative US registry record
WHO ICTRP — international registry index
EU Clinical Trials Register
Sponsor press releases (Google)

Data sources for this page

Trial protocol + status: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT06643481 (US National Library of Medicine, public domain)
Publications: Europe PMC API search by NCT ID, retrieved 10 June 2026
Drug + disease cross-links: matched in real time against Drug Landscape's normalised drug + company + condition tables
Sponsor: as reported to ClinicalTrials.gov by Novartis Pharmaceuticals
Last refreshed: 7 April 2026

Drug Landscape aggregates and links these public records for informational use only. Always verify against the primary source before clinical or regulatory decisions. Canonical URL: https://druglandscape.com/trial/NCT06643481.

Primary sources · FDA · ClinicalTrials.gov · EMA · SEC EDGAR · ChEMBL · Wikidata · full sourcing